Space Force is not mad, but just disappointed in ULA’s Vulcan delays

The US Space Force is not feeling warm feelings towards its longest partner, ULA, after years of delays with the company’s new Vulcan rocket. While the company struggles to get its launch cadence up, the Space Force has been moving its missions to SpaceX for quick and seamless launches.

Unsatisfactory report card. Major General Stephen G. Purdy, acting assistant secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration, stated in written testimony that the force is less than happy with ULA’s delays of the Vulcan rocket. For reference, ULA was once the beloved monopoly for the DoD with its Atlas V and Delta IV rockets before retiring both in favor of Vulcan.

The ULA Vulcan program has performed unsatisfactorily this past year,” Purdy said on May 14. “Major issues with the Vulcan have overshadowed its successful certification, resulting in delays to the launch of four national security missions.”

ULA was expecting to launch its first national security mission by the end of last year, but a mid-flight anomaly caused a lengthy delay in receiving a sign-off from the Space Force. This came after another lengthy delay due to an investigation into a failed Centaur second stage ground test.

That, of course, was followed by several years of delays from its original debut date after receiving over $1 billion in development contracts from the U.S. Government.

Not yet in the clear. While ULA hopes to launch its first National Security Space Launch mission in July, Purdy’s testimony states the company and Space Force are still working through “risk reduction plans” for its first payload.

ULA’s first NSSL mission will be USSF-106. The mission details are not entirely public, except for the inclusion of a ride-sharing payload called Navigation Technology Satellite 3, a tech demonstrator for potential future GPS satellites.

SpaceX to the rescue. Right now SpaceX‘s Falcon 9 is the only capable and reliable access to space for the DoD. A scary thought given the Falcon 9 has not been immune to issues in recent years.

The Space Force and SpaceX have partnered up for several quick turnaround satellite launches of GPS III satellites, with the most recent taking place last Friday. These launches can take a satellite from storage, get it ready for launch, and actually launch it in a matter of months versus years.

SpaceX has also taken on several launches from ULA as it continues to work on getting Vulcan ready to begin flying its contracted missions.